Internet text retrieval systems accept a statement for requested information in terms of a search query S made up of a plurality of keywords T1, T2, . . . Ti, . . . Tn and return a list of documents that contain matches for the search query terms. To facilitate the performance of such searches on internet databases, search engines have been developed that provide a query interface to the information containing sources and return search results ranked sequentially on how well the listed documents match the search query. One of the uses of search engines is in connection with company web sites. One problem with company web sites is that it is difficult for customers and employees alike to find the information that they need. This is particularly true in certain product support databases which can be heavily weighted with pages with technical content. In a corporation with global reach, this information can be in a number of natural languages, both analog and digital form, and in a number of different formats, and in multiple machine languages. The type of data and their form, format, and languages may not be what is required or even understood by the searcher. What is necessary is an internationalized searching system which is easy to use and provides results that can be understood by the searcher.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an internationalized searching system accessible in multiple languages and providing comprehensible search results in selectable languages.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide an internationalized searching system capable of accessing information in numerous forms, formats and languages which is capable of providing the information to searchers in their desired formats and computer languages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an internationalized searching system that accepts search terms in multiple national languages and provides locale specific search results.